Sliding-door construction.



J. R. HUSSEY.

SLIDING DOOR CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED m. 6, 1908.

4 SHBETSSHHET 1.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

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v INVENTOR John" Huasey. BY

ATTORNEY.

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J. R. HUSSEY SLIDING DOOR CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 6, 1908.

909,602, Patentea Jan. 1.2; 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lllllliilllnlTi WITNESSES: INVENTOR'.

. ATTORNEY.

J. R. HUSSEY.

SLIDING DOOR OONSTRUGTION.

urmoumn mum mu. e, 1908.

909,602, Patented Jan.12,1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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ATTORNEY.

J. R. HUSSEY.

SLIDING DOOR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION rum) JAN. 6, 190a.

Patented Jan. 12,1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET '4.

INVENTOR. John R. Hussey.

ATTORNEY.

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rllliiv Q 11km Y C11 7 JOHN R. HUSSEY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

SLIDING-DOOR CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

Application filed January 6, 1908. Serial No. 409, 58.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN R. HUssnY, of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Sliding-Door Construction; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters refer to like parts.

The object of this invention is to provide a safe and positively reliable sliding door for freight cars and other structures in connection with which sliding doors are used.

One feature of the invention consists in providing means for supporting the door when not closed, and non-supporting means at each end of the door for controlling the movements of the same in opening and closing, and in connection with the foregoing a common means for both elevating and controlling the door.

To that end the door is elevated on supporting standards that are mounted and movable on the track, and pivoted at their upper ends to the door, preferably inside its face, and guiding arms are provided between the lower part of the door and said supporting standards, whereby when the door is elevated, said arms will move the door outwardly, and as the door is being closed, they will push the door inwardly at the lower end. Cooperating with the lower guiding arms, there are upper guiding arms pivoted to the upper end of the door and slidable on a rod secured to the structure above the opening, which control th movements of the upper end of the door.

Another feature of the invention consists in first, providing a tension guide rod on a structure above the opening on which slidable arms are mounted that are pivoted to the upper end of the door, and, second, supporting standards mounted on the track below the door-opening so that they cannot escape therefrom, and which are pivoted to the door above the bottom, and which are further connected with the door by the lower regulating arms, whereby the door will resist pressure from within whether closed, open, or partially open, both at the top and bottom.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing double stops for limiting the sliding movement of the upper part of the door in both directions. Also locks for the edges of the door intermediate the top and bottom that cooperate with the guiding means at the top and bottom of the door for effecting the locking of the door as it is being closed.

Another feature of this invention consists in so mounting the door that the jarring of the car when in motion will release the support of the door, and it will fall against the side of the car, if open or partially open, and friction will prevent the door from skating on the track, or if opposite the opening, or jarred, or otherwise moved opposite the opening, it will instantly close to its original position and fastenings. To this end the door is supported on standards that are mounted and movable on a track below the opening and pivoted to the door so that when the lifting force is released, the center of gravity of the door is thrown inward by the lower guiding arms within a vertical line through the center of the track, and, therefor, gravity will throw the door against the structure or into the opening.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of the structure with my sliding door construction, parts being broken away, the door being shown closed in full lines and open in dotted lines. Fig. 2 shows the lower left-hand portion of Fig. 1, on a larger scale and with all parts in full lines instead of dotted lines, and showing the lower part of the door in open position. Fig. 3 is horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. i is a similar section on the line ll of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 55 of Fig. 1, with the parts broken away centrally at the top and bottom, and showing the door in closed position. Fig. 6 is the same showing the door in the early part of the opening movement thereof. Fig. 7 is the same showing the door in the latter part of the opening movement thereof. Fig. 8 is the same showing the door open in full lines, and leaning against the side of the structure or car in dotted lines. 9 is a horizontal section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1. Fig. 10 is a vertical section on the line 1010 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is the same viewed in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrows on the line l010 of Fig. 9, the door casing being indicated by dotted lines, and showing the door closed. Fig. 12 is the same as Fig. 11 with the door open.

The drawings show in detail the side of a car or other structure 20 which has a suitable opening in the side thereof adapted to be closed by a sliding door 21. Above the door there is secured a horizontal tension guide rod 22. It slips through the middle bearing 23 fastened to the structure and at the ends is reversibly threaded to screw into bearings 24 secured to the structure. Upper guide arms 25 are mounted on said guide rod 22 slidably and at their lower ends, as shown inFig. 8, are pivoted in brackets 26 secured to the upper corners of the door. These guiding arms 25 are inclined upwardly away from the door and reversely with reference to each other, as shown in Fig. 1, and the bearings 23 and 24 are secured to the structure at such places that the guiding arms 25 will abut against the one bearing 24 and one side of the middle bearing 23 when the door is closed, and against the other end bearing 24 and the opposite side of the middle bearing 23 when the door is entirely open. Therefore, the bearings 23 and 24 form a double stop for the sliding arms 25 of the door to limit and stop the movement of the door in either direction and to furnish a very secure top support for the door when closed and when entirely open.

Stops 200 are secured on the head of the rail secured to the structure below the opening for engaging the rollers running on the track and limiting the movement of the door in each direction. The upper part of the stop is curved to receive the roller. These stops are adjustably mounted so that they can be set in proper position.

By making the top guide rod 22 a tension red, as explained, it holds the door positively secure against outward pressure, as from freight fallen against it during transit, both when the door is closed and the guiding arms 25 are against the guide rod bearings and, what is of equal importance, when the door is partially open and said guide arms are midway between the bearings. By curving or inclining the guide arms 25 as described, the door can fully come to the center of the middle support 23 so that the door can enter the closing position along the left-hand edge, or when the door is pushed entirely open, its right-hand edge will not extend beyond the left-hand side of the 'fioor-casing.

Below the opening in the structure a horizontal outstanding track 30 is secured, which is continuously supported on the structure or car 20 by a center web 31 for the entire length of the track, such web being flanged at 32 and bolted or otherwise secured to the structure or car. This continuous support and connection between the track 30 and the car or structure prevents the track from being dented or bent by the concussion from heavy drays as they back againstit in unloading the freight or otherwise.

At two points the front face of the door is provided with vertical recesses in which there is embedded a metal frame 34, see Figs. 2, 3, and 4. It is secured at its lower end by bolts 35 through lateral flanges and at the top, by the bolt 136. The rear portion of said frame 34 is vertically slotted, as shown in Fig. 3, throughout the lower portion thereof, and the upper part of said frame carries a back wall plate supporting a rack 36, as seen in Fig. 4. Said frame is also vertically slotted in front from its bottom to the top of the rack, and has side grooves the entire length to the top of the rack, and thus constitutes a vertical guide for the movement of the sliding plate 37 which is yoked at its lower end, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the two sides thereof slide in the vertical guideway 34. It has also backwardly projecting ears 45 at the bottom which carry a pin 145. To the upper end of said sliding plate 37 there is a rod 38 mounted that carries a pinion 39 which meshes with the rack 36. To the lower end of the sliding plate 37, the upper end of the lifting standard 40 is pivoted, and that standard carries in its lower end a roller 41 which rides and travels upon the track 30. Said standard 40 has on one side a downward extension 43 that extends and is movable under the rail 30 to prevent the escape of the roller 41 from the rail. To the lifting standard 40 near the roller 41 a lower guide arm 44 is pivoted at one end, see Fig. 5, and at the other end the guiding arm is pivoted by pin 145 to the ear 45 at the lower end of the frame 34.

The construction just described is duplicated at the two sides of the door, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and is operated by the same shaft 38 which has a. clasp or bracket 47 secured about midway thereof to which the hand lever 48 is fulcrumed so that it may be swung laterally. WVhen the door is in its closed position, as shown at the right-hand end of Fig. 1, the lever 48 drops in behind an upwardly projecting holder 50, and when the door is in its open position, as shown in the lefthand end of Fig. 1 and also in Fig. 2, the lever 48 is caught in behind the holder 51 which is secured to the door at any angle beyond a vertical position. It is observed, therefore, that there are two pairs of guiding arms, an upper pair 25 and a lower pair 44 that cofiperate in moving the door outwardly away from, or inwardly towards, the structure as the door is elevated or lowered,

respectively. But it is important that the lower guiding arms 44- be shorter than the upper guiding arms 25.

In operation, assuming the door to be closed and in the position shown at the right hand of Fig. l and in' Fig. 5, and the hand lever 48 behind the catch 50, the lever is moved upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1, preferably to vertical, and then drawn outwardly from the door and turned downwardly, thus turning the shaft 38 a half revolution. Said shaft, through the pinions 39 and rack 36 will gradually elevate the door, which as soon as it starts, is supported wholly by the lifting standards 40 and track 30, see Fig. 6. Upon the first upward movement 'of the door the tendency of the lower end thereof is to move inwardly somewhat while the guiding arms 44 are moving from the downwardly inclined position shown in Fig. 5 to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 6. At the same time the upper guiding arms 25 are throwing the upper end of the door outwardly. It is observed that the lower arms 44 are not only shorter than the arms 25 but they are normally inclined downwardly and inwardly when the arms 25 are inclined downwardly and outwardly. This causes the lower part of the door to be at first moved inwardly while the upper part of the door is moved outwardly. The further elevation of the door to the position shown in Fig. 7 causes the entire door to be moved outwardly from the structure, the lifting standards 40 being gradually moved from the normally inclined position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 to a vertical position, for the lower guiding arms 44, as they rise, force the lower end of the door outwardly, and by complete operation of the hand lever 48, the bottom of the door is forced against the lifting standards and into a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 8, the inclined lifting standards 40 straightening up parallel with the door and the lower guiding arms 44 nearly parallel with the lifting standards. At the same time the upper guiding arms 25 have come to a horizontal position on the tension rod and the top of the door is thrown outwardly, the whole door standing parallel with its original position but bodily outside of the face of the structure. Then the door can be moved laterally upon the track 80, said track supporting the door and guiding the movement of the lower end thereof, and the guide rod 22 guiding the movement of the upper end thereof. Vith the hand lever 48 caught in behind the catch 51 on the door, that is fully thrown, it will hold the door in the open position while the car, if the door be on a car. is not in motion. The door is closed by sliding it opposite the opening in the car or structure and lowering it into place by operating the lever 48 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1, or releasing it and letting it fly.

The parts are so arranged that when the door is open, as shown in Fig. 8, the guiding arms 44 are not vertical, and the door cannot find a rest upon them, but the instant the door is allowed to settle, these guiding arms throw it inwardly, and the weight of the door throws it against the side of the car, as shown in Fig. 8 by dotted lines, and friction prevents skating of the door on the track. The retaining catch 51 inclines outwardly. This catch holds the handle in a position inclined from vertical, and the jarring of the car when in motion will release the lever 48 from behind the catch, and the whole weight of the door will act on the lower inclined guiding arms 44 to force the door against the side of the structure and oblige it to act as a brake against the skating of the door on the track while the train is in motion. As soon as the door is jarred or otherwise moved opposite the opening, and it is no longer supported by the side of the structure, it will independently and automatically close itself. it is observed, therefore, that my construction is provided with two pairs of guiding arms 2-5 and 44 of unequal length which, when the door is fully opened outwardly, hold the door out parallel with the starting position, one pair at the top operating on a fixed means, and the other pair at the bottom, operating on movable means. l-lence, the outside OI the door while closed is in alinement with the face of the car or fully parallel therewith, and is out of alinement or parallelism therewith during the opening of the door, and is in complete parallelism therewith when finally opened, which results are due to the differing lengths and motions of the upper and lower guiding arms. Said guiding arms 25 and 44 take no part in lifting the door, but they merely control the position of the door while it is being lifted on the lifting standards 40, and a rocking motion is given by them to the door while opening. Furthermore, the lower guiding arms 44 never reach a perpendicular position or dead center, so that the door when opened never comes to a dead rest on said arms.

The lower guiding arms cooperate with the track and the means sliding on the track, such as the parts 41 and 43 to serve as a lock to prevent outward movement of the bottom of the door from inward pressure while the door is seated. This result is contributed to by the inclined position of the elevating standard 40 and the guiding arms 44 which go down past the center. The standards 40, arranged as shown, ride on the track at the lower end of the door, and are operated by the means for controlling the movements of the door. Both ends of the door are equally insured against outward movement from inward pressure, when entirely and when partially opposite the opening, and I have absolute control of the upper and lower ends of the door, when closed, opened, or being opened.

The weight of the door is supported by the track, the rollers 41 and the elevating standards 40, when the door is open or being opened, whereas the outward and inward movements of the door are controlled by the unequal arms 25 and 44. And yet both of said elevating and controlling means are actuated by one means, the lever 48.

At each side of the door midway between the top and bottom, central locks closed against sleet and snow are provided for holding the central part of the door closed tightly against outward pressure. As shown in Figs. 9 to 12 they each consist of a plate 60 secured to the door casing by bolts 61 with a laterally projecting pin 62, preferably shaped as shown, substantially triangular, with one face substantially vertical and another inclined downwardly about 45 from the vertical. This pin 62 projects into a similarly inclined socket formed by a plate 64 secured on the edge of the door by bolts 65 and having an inclined upper flange 66 and lower flange 67. These intermediate locks are formed so as to cooperate with the action of the upper and lower guiding arms 25 and 44.

\Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing the opening, means for supporting the door while not closed, means for elevating the door on said supporting means, guiding arms pivotally connected with the lower end of the door and said supporting means, and means for guiding the upper end of the door.

2. A sliding door consruction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing the opening, means for sup porting the door while not closed, means for el vating the door on said supporting means, guiding arms pivotally connected with the lower end of the door and said supporting means, a rod mounted on the structure above the door opening, and arms slidable on said rod that are pivotally connected with the upper end of the door for guiding the same.

3. A sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing the opening, means for supporting the door while not closed, means for elevating the door on said supporting means, guiding arms pivotally connected with the lower end of the door and said. supporting means, a rod mounted on the structure above the door opening, arms slidable on said rod that are pivotally connected with the upper end of the door for guiding the same, the upper guiding arms being longer than the lower guiding arms.

4. A sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing the opening, a track secured to the structure below the opening, stand ards supported and movable on said track with their upper ends pivotally connected with the door above the lower end thereof, whereby said standards will be inclined when the door is closed and vertical when the door is open and will limit the outward movement thereof when the door is opened, means for elevating said door on said supporting standards, and means for guiding the door during the opening and closing movements thereof.

5. A sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing said opening, a track secured to the structure below the opening, supporting standards pivotally connected at their upper ends to the door above the lower end thereof, rollers on the lower ends of said standards adapted to ride on said track, means to prevent the lower ends of said standards escaping from the track, means for elevating the door on said supporting standards, and means for guiding the door during the opening and closing movements thereof, whereby the center of gravity of the door will be between the structure and a vertical line through the track so that the door when opened will have a tendency to close by gravity.

6. A sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing said opening, a track secured to the structure below the opening, supporting standards pivotally connected at thelr upper ends to the door above the lower end thereof, rollers on the lower ends of said standards adapted to ride on said track, means to prevent the lower ends of said standards escaping from the track, means for elevating the door on said supporting standard, means for guiding the door during the opening and closing movements thereof, whereby the center of gravity of the door will be between the structure and a vertical line through the track so that the door when opened will have a tendency to close by gravity, and means for holding said door open which will be disengaged by jarring.

7. A sliding door construction including a structure with an opening, a door for closing said opening, a track secured to the structure below the opening, supporting standards mounted and movable on said track at their lower ends, slides mounted in the door that are pivoted to the upper ends of said supporting standards, and a single means mounted on the door and engaging said slides for elevating the door with reference to the slides and supporting standards.

8. A sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing the opening, a track secured to the structure below the opening, standards supported and movable on said track with their upper ends pivotally connected to the door above the lower end thereof, whereby said standards will be inclined when the door is closed and will limit the outward movement thereof when the door is opened, means for elevating said door, on said sup porting standards, means for guiding the door during the opening and closing movements thereof, and means pivotally connecting the lower part of the door with said sup porting standards, whereby as the door is elevated, it will be moved outwardly.

9. A sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing the opening, a track secured to the structure below the opening, standards supported and movable on said track with their upper ends pivotally connected to the door above the lower end thereof, whereby said arms will be inclined when the door is closed and will limit the outward movement thereof when the door is opened, means for elevating said door on said supporting standards, means for guiding the door during the opening and closing movements thereof, means pivotally connecting the lower part of the door with said supporting standards, whereby as the door is elevated, it will be moved outwardly, and means pivoted to the upper end of the door and to the structure above the door for causing the upper part of the door to move outwardly as it is raised.

10. A sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a removable door for closing the opening, means for supporting the door while not closed, means for elevating the door on said supporting means, guiding arms pivotally connected with the lower end of the door and said supporting 1621118, a rod mounted on the structure above the door opening, arms slidable on said rod that are pivotally connected with the upper end of the door for guiding the same, the upper guiding arms being longer than the lower guiding arms, and means for locking the side edges of the door intermediate its ends as the door closes.

11. A. sliding door construction including a structure having an opening, a track se-- cured to the structure below the opening, a door for closing the opening that has a pair of vertical recesses in its outer face near its lower end, standards supportable and movable on said track and fitting in said recesses, racks embedded in said recesses, and means operating in connection with said racks for elevating or lowering the door on said supporting standards, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto aflixed my signature in the presence of the witnesses herein named.

JOHN R. HUSSEY. 

